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This just in from Basic Rights Oregon. Communications Director Karynn Fish (at the left in the photo above) is stepping down to take a communications position with the Open Society Institute in New York, which is founded by George Soros. Don't know who Soros is? Here's a bit from the Open Society's bio on him: A global financier and philanthropist, George Soros is the founder and chairman ...
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[youtube 8pFPQMQk4dE] As Maine this week became the fifth state to allow gay marriage, Basic Rights Oregon executive director Jeana Frazzini released this video that outlines her organization's strategy for the same to happen here in three years. Frazzini correctly points out that Oregon voters' approval in 2004 of Measure 36 requires supporters of same-sex marriage in this state to change "hearts ...
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As expected, California's Supreme Court announced this morning that it has upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage but will let stand the thousands of marriages that took place between gay couples before voters approved that ban with Proposition 8 last fall. Jeana Frazzini, head of Basic Rights Oregon, said this morning that her gay-rights group was obviously disappointed by the decision. ...
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The hot topic of health care reform hits everyone differently. From the perspective of Basic Rights Oregon, one ignored group is transgender people, so BRO announced this week that it's building a campaign for transgender people to get better health care coverage. "The vast majority of insurance policies explicitly exclude trans-appropriate healthcare" reads BRO's website. BRO says it's found ...
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A reminder from Basic Rights Oregon that the New Jersey state Senate is taking up gay marriage today, though the prospects for marriage rights in that state don't look so good. If New Jersey lawmakers don't OK marriage rights for gays and lesbians, it would be the latest example of a seeming stall for the cause of gay rights between domestic partnership and full marriage rights. UPDATE: Gay ...
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Here's a piece of positive news for Basic Rights Oregon to talk about on Oregonians' doorsteps as its supporters push for marriage rights: Argentina has become the first Latin American country to OK same-sex marriage. If you're a gay or lesbian couple in Oregon who doesn't want to wait until 2012 in hopes of getting married here, here are other places around the globe — and in the United ...
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It's not exactly surprising that Basic Rights Oregon's political action committee announced this morning that it's endorsing Democratic candidate John Kitzhaber in the Oregon governor's race But what is surprising in the gay rights organization's news release (which extols Kitzhaber's track record when he was governor for two terms) is that BRO says Republican candidate Chris Dudley didn't respond ...
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Evan Wolfson and supporters in Oregon of marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples have reason to celebrate today. A federal judge in San Francisco has struck down California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure in that state banning same-sex marriage. UPDATE: Basic Rights Oregon executive director Jeana Frazzini linked the decision to what she hopes is a push in Oregon ultimately ...
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